For the past several years, there has been an interagency effort to promote health and safety for nail salon workers. Ostensibly a part of the AAPI Outreach Initiative and Executive Order 13515, the Nail Salon Project has resulted in multilingual brochures, booklets, and fact sheets to promote the health and safety of all salon workers.

            The "ethnic breakdown of US nail technicians is 46% Caucasian and 40% Asian, with Vietnamese dominating the make up with 37% out of the Asian percentage"  (http://www.epa.gov/aapi/nailsalon.htm). Concern over the health of salon workers knows no ethnic or racial barriers however. The booklet, "Protecting the Health of Nail Salon Workers" was published in 2007 (http://www.epa.gov/aapi/nailsalon.htm). It describes the risks involved for the 155,000 nail technicians in the industry, from inhalation of fumes, to skin exposure to chemicals, and to infection from bacteria. Dust masks, however, do little more than prevent dust inhalation; they provide no protection from fumes. The guide lists no less than 20 potential irritants and/or carcinogens.

            The concern over health and safety protection for nail technicians is not unfounded. Among the representative parties in support of the Project have been the Asian American Health Coalition, the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, Vietnamese Community Health Network, and the Center for Research on Minority Health at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. The AAPI Outreach Inititiative has helped ensure that booklets are also available in Vietnamese and Korean (http://www.epa.gov/dfe/pubs/projects/salon/)(http://www.cahealthynailsalons.org/resourcestim-hi%E1%BB%83u-them/vietnamese-resourcesvietnamese-resources/) and written  for shop managers with limited English proficiency.

            Various sources point out the heightened health risks for nail technicians. In "Behind the Label: Nail Polish," Ecologist writer Pat Thomas describes how long term exposure to the different solvents, toxic trio of chemicals, and various additives in nail polish can harm health, from causing allergies and rashes, to promoting birth defects and illness, including cancer. He contends that even the mica used to provide glitter is mined by the lowly paid labors of women and children in places such as India (http://www.theecologist.org/green_green_living/behind_the_label/370100/behind_the_label_nail_polish.html). Dr. Thu Quach at the Cancer Prevention Institute in California also made national medical headlines over her study on the chemical air quality inside salons.

Many workers are experiencing health symptoms related to the chemicals we measured in this study,” said Dr. Quach. “Our concern is that harmful chemicals at unsafe levels in the workplace may also have impacts on the long-term health of nail salon workers, especially if they are exposed over a long period of time. We plan to continue our studies of these chemicals and their immediate as well as long-term effects on those in this workforce. (http://www.cpic.org/site/ c.skI0L6MKJpE/b.6750687/k.BB14/Nail_Salon_Workers_Exposed_to_Unsafe_Amounts_of_Toxic_Chemicals.htm)

            The teamwork behind the Nail Salon Project has not only led to interagency cooperation between traditionally separate departments such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Small Business Administration, but it has opened doors between AAPI non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the Whitehouse Council on Women and Girls (Tina M. Tchen, Executive Director). In "Toward Green Nail Salons," Audrey Buehring (present at the AAPI Women's Issues Conference call) describes how such roundtables are spawning a variety of ideas because "it's a multi-faceted issue that requires a multi-agency approach" (http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/05/19/toward-green-nail-salons).

            More publications have followed in the wake of the first booklet--hardly surprising given the commercial significance of the industry. According to Mapping the Nail Care Industry, "Nail care is the fastest growing sector in the beauty industry, generating more than $6 billion annually in sales nationwide...The U.S. personal care products industry is made up of approximately 750 companies with combined annual revenue of approximately $40 billion" (Dominican & CHNSC, 2009, p. 16). From chemical manufacturing to waste disposal, this is an industry whose environmental impacts are inherently considerable---facts that the average American consumer overlooks because such information seems so readily unavailable.

            Closely following the nail industry is the pedicure industry, hence the booklet "Recommended Cleaning and Disinfection Procedures for Foot Spa Basins in Salons" and fact sheet "Preventing Pedicure Foot Spa Infections" (available in Vietnamese also, published February 2011) are available to protect against foot diseases and bacteria. Other publications such as "Reducing Air Pollution from: Nail Salons" recommend providing adequate ventilation, and reducing the use of banned substances such as liquid methyl methacrylate monomer. Of course, given that salons are operated by owners who may import their products from a variety of other countries (although mostly from New Jersey), it is impossible to regulate every single bottle on the shelf.

            In fact, the number of reported nail care technicians is itself highly variable (155,000 to 500,000) because many work only part-time, and are often indistinguishable from cosmetologists, hair dressers, hair stylists, or personal appearance workers. Possibly negative label association has caused the reported and projected numbers at the Bureau of Labor Statistics to fall recently, even though through the year 2018, the number of barbers, cosmetologists, and personal appearance workers is projected to increase by 20% (to 987,400 workers).

            Not only does the health of such a sizeable workforce matter, but also their clientele. In fact if Audrey Buehring's blog entry signifies the direction the industry is taking, a "greener" cosmetics industry will have a significant impact all around. Can an industry embroiled in synthetic alchemy "go green"? In Mani-Peds Go Green writer Momo Chang discusses the feasibility of setting up "green salons." While there is little hope of transforming an essentially self-regulated industry overnight (Cosmetic Ingredient Review), public pressure (together with NGOs such as the National APA Women's Forum) may help "set a national agenda for nail salon worker safety" which would at the very least promote safe materials handling and green building certifications (http://www.cahealthynailsalons.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/ManisPedisGoGreen.pdf). 

            More steps are being taken to ensure that a greening of the industry can be effected. For instance, more nail polisher suppliers are considering eliminating the toxic three (dibutyl phthalate, toluene compounds, and formaldehyde). Greener brands of nail polish include the Dr.'s Remedy, Zoya, Acquarella, Polished Mamma, Priti NYC, Kaia House, Piggy Paint, Honeybee Gardens, No Miss, Sante, Nubar, Spa Ritual, Peacekeeper Cause-Metics, Provida (http://www.care2.com/greenliving/non-toxic-nail-polish.html).

            The question remains, however, how green are these non-toxic nail polishes, when in fact, they likely still contain 17 other chemical irritants and pollutants whether its nitrocellulose, butyl acetate, styrene compounds, or polytetraflouroethylene (teflon)? And, how prevalent are these chemicals in our environment today?

In the US the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found DBP (dibutyl phthalate) and other phthalates in the bloodstream of every person they tested, but still the FDA has taken no action to ban the ingredient.

A report by the US Environmental Working Group on one particular perfluorinated chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), revealed that this substance can be found in the blood of some 90 per cent of US citizens - in some at levels as high as those found in workers at factories producing perfluorinates. PFCs are virtually indestructible and widespread in the environment and most observers believe that we have not yet begun to understand their full impact on human health or the environment. (Ecologist, Thomas, 2009)

            Clearly there is much to research and consider with regard to new organic nail polishes. (In fact, hardly any of the above listed polishes could be considered organic, unlike Henna). The EPA has also sponsored new projects such as the African American Hair Salon Project and publication of "Environmental Health and Personal Care Products" (Counts-Arnold & Jackson, 2010) which provides warnings on the potential toxins in hair relaxers, skin lighteners (mercury), pomades (estrogenic hormones), and synthetic fragrances. The Counts-Arnold & Jackson report (http://www.epa.gov/p2week/pubs/CountsArnold.pdf) also lists two bills which were considered in 2010, The Toxic Chemicals Safety Act, and Federal Safe Cosmetic Act. New partnerships are being formed in the interest of promoting healthy living.

            It's worth thinking about what you buy, but it is hard to stay informed. One useful website to bookmark is the GoodGuide (www.goodguide.com). This site lists product ratings and reviews according to positive ecological impacts on health, the environment, and social costs. Products listed include personal care products and nail polishes as well.

         Article prepared and written by C. Wong of Columbiapress.org & Photo by CHK (www.blu-geese.org)